Further to IAUC 8309, K. Battams reports his measures for a
comet (discovery observation below) found by T. Hoffman on C2
coronagraph images posted at the SOHO website. The reduced
astrometry and orbital elements by B. G. Marsden appear on MPEC
2004-H01. The object appears to be a member of the Meyer group
(cf. IAUC 7832).

Further to IAUC 8341, K. Battams reports his measures for an
apparent comet found on SOHO C3 images by J. Danaher (discovery
observation below). The reductions by R. Kisala and parabolic
orbital elements by B. G. Marsden (T = 2003 Oct. 21.6 TT, q =
0.519, Peri. = 234.7 deg, Node = 181.1 deg, i = 14.5 deg, equinox
2000.0) appear on MPEC 2004-K33. It is possible that C/2003 T12
has a short period and somewhat smaller perihelion distance, but
the latter is limited by the minimum solar elongation of 5.3 deg;
the object seems to have been too faint to show on SOHO-SWAN
frames.

Further to IAUC 8358, K. Battams reports measurements for
additional near-sun comets found on SOHO coronagrapic images (and
K. McGleam for C/2004 B4 and B5). Given below are comet
designation, the date/time and position for the first available
observation, the instrument(s) in which the comet was observed, the
person who first found the comet on SOHO website images (JS = J.
Sachs; TH = T. Hoffman; XZ = X.-m. Zhou; SH = S. Hoenig; JD = J.
Danaher; MB = M. Boschat; RK = R. Kracht; DC = D. Chen; KC = K.
Cernis), and the MPECs containing the reductions by R. Kisala and
orbital elements by B. G. Marsden. All are Kreutz sungrazers --
except C/2004 A3 and B3, which belong to the Kracht group, and
C/2004 E2, which belongs to no known group. Note that the finder
of C/2004 D3 was given erroneously on MPEC 2004-D14.

C/2004 J5 was also found by Hoffman. Marsden performed the
reductions for C/2004 F6, which was a bright comet showing a short
tail in both C3 and C2 images. All are Kreutz comets except for
the following Kracht-group members: C/2004 J4, J12, J13, J15, and
J16. C/2004 J4 and J12 were also fairly bright, fading gradually
as they neared the sun.
[IAUC 8366, 2004 July 2]

Further to IAUC 8419, another SOHO comet found on C3
coronagraph images, this time by H. Otterstedt ('discovery'
observation below), which K. Battams has found to have peaked near
mag 7 before rapidly fading over the two-day arc of observation.
The astrometry (measured by Battams, reduced by B. G. Marsden),
orbital elements by Marsden (T = Oct. 18.0 TT, q = 0.066 AU, i = 84
deg), and an ephemeris appear on MPEC 2004-U26.

Further to IAUC 8455, all the SOHO comets announced there were
Kreutz sungrazers except for C/2004 V9 and C/2004 V10, which belong
to the Marsden group. Marsden adds (MPEC 2004-X73) that C/2004 V9
may be identical with C/1999 J6, with a 5.49-yr period. Also, S.
Hoenig reports that he learned of the appearance of C/2004 V13 on
the C3 images from J. Sachs, who evidently was the first to notice
it.
[IAUC 8456, 2004 December 18]

Further to IAUC 8455, following are the initial observations
of additional Kreutz sungrazing comets found on SOHO website images
(TS = T. Scarmato). K. Battams notes that C/2004 V15 was fairly
bright with a short tail.

[IAUC 8458, 2004 December 22]
Here is a list of the
2004 SOHO discoveries, with the date of the comet, date of discovery,
coronagraph and discoverer.
Published by Jonathan Shanklin. mailto:jds@ast.cam.ac.uk